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The K5E was a very different gun than the Schwerer Gustav - it was the classic long range interdiction gun. It was designed to be reasonably mobile, come into action quickly and deliver large projectiles at long range. A pair of K5s were used to considerable effect on the Anzio beachhead in 1944. This was highly unusual because railway guns were vulnerable to air attack. At Anzio the K5s operated out of a tunnel and only appeared to elevate the barrel and fire. One of the captured K5 at Aberdeen was studied to provide design ideas for the M65 Atomic Annie gun.
The Schwerer Gustav was a very specialised siege gun. It took something like 2 weeks to assemble and although it could deliver 7 ton projectiles over decent ranges it was quite inflexible. In WW2 the Germans only found a single target, Sevastapol, which had fortifications substantial enough to be worth the time and trouble of moving and assembling the 80cm gun. The Gustav/Dora would have been much more useful in WW1 to smash the Belgian and French fortifications.
I agree that we need more railway gun models. WW1 was the zenith of the railway guns when hundreds of diverse types of railway guns were deployed.
Regards,
Charlie
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